Two Birds, One stone
by Mustardlover16
Summary: Jace comes back from an undercover mission in Alicante. Little does he know the drama he's coming to or the trouble he brought back with him. Set after COG.


"Clary! Clary! Come down to the front door, quick!" Isabelle sounded riled up. What could it be? Clary burst down the stairs, no time for the elevator, she sounded urgent. Her feet barely touched the rough wooden steps as she went. Round and round she went, holding onto the banister all along, just in case.

Finally she reached the bottom of the stairs, only slightly out of breath. She rushed into the front room but came to an abrupt halt at the sight. It wasn't at all what she'd thought it would be. She expected to see some monstrous demon looming over the pretty Lightwood girl. Instead she saw Jace, dufflebag hanging from his shoulders, grinning at her like she was supposed to be happy.

He was _so_ dense. He had come back after six months of being in Alicante and he expected her to just run at him like there was tomorrow? It's not that she didn't want to. She did, more than anything but she was also very hurt. In all that time he'd never called her, never portal-ed back to visit, never sent her a letter. He had left her for six months, with no communication what-so-ever even though he had promised.

She'd been so lonely! Not to mention scared out of her wits, worried every minute. Since the day he left her, her nails had been chewn to the quick. She hadn't slept well and she was almost always stressed. Isabelle, Alec and Simon had been spending much of their time trying to keep her in high spirits. She tried her best for them, but the constant ignorance of Jace's well being gnawed at her.

White hot anger surged through her and she marched up to him. His grin grew wider at first, then confused when he came to see the look on her face. She pulled her arm back and punched him straight in the mouth. His bag slid from his shoulders and hit the floor with a bang. His head shot back. She heard Alec and Isabelle both gasp.

Slowly he lowered his head down to it's normal position, reaching his hand out to wipe his now bloody lips. "I suppose it would do me no good to ask what I'd done to deserve that, hmm?" He didn't seem too hurt which, despite Clary's anger, relieved her as well. He did seem a bit surprised, a little upset that she hadn't run into his arms.

Oh, his sarcasm was _so not _what she wanted to hear right then. Gritting her teeth, she whirled around and marched out all the while mentally chanting, _"I will not punch him again. It won't help anything."_

As she turned the corner she heard Jace ask again what he had done to deserve the punch. Isabelle exasperatedly answered. Needing some air, Clary pounded back up the stairs, this time much faster than she had run down. She didn't need to think. She had done that. Six months of it. She just needed to breathe and clear her head. The stairway to the roof was a long one, and past the sixth story of the institute it looked like nobody ever cared for it. It became dustier and more sketchy, as if she could fall through the boards at anytime.

Once she reached the top she burst through the rickety door that let to the roof. She was immediately met with a burst of cold New York air. She heard the comforting sound of traffic and city lights as far as she could see. She told herself to breathe. She told herself not think about anything but breathing.

After a while her breathing slowed and she groaned with pure exhaustion. She collapsed into the retaining wall behind her, sliding till she sat on the tar roof. The concrete was cool against her back. Here the wind was partially blocked. She looked up to see the stars. There were few, and one she was almost sure was Venus.

Now, when she was calm, she could think. Was punching Jace rash? Hell yes. But was it completely undeserved? She didn't think so. Did it do any good in the long run? No, not really. All it had gained her was temporary relief and some pretty bloody knuckles.

She was so stupid. She should have played the dumb girl, the innocent, happy-to-see-you girlfriend. At that thought she heard the roof to the door open and shut softly. She knew at once by the pace and the very presence that followed who it was. Jace.

"It was a good punch. Solid, well placed, out of the blue. You've been training."

"Nice of you to notice." She said in a small voice. She was weary. She didn't want to argue or fight, she just wanted to be whole again. And with Jace she felt whole.

"Yes, well it you didn't make it very easy to not notice."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Finally he sat down a good few feet from her, a safe distance, a distance _just_ out of her reach.

"Clary, I have to say that-" He started, just as she said:

"Jace I need you to know-" They both stopped. Jace snorted, grinning a bit.

"Tell me why you're so upset. It might make it easier for me to fix this whole mess." He replied quietly. It sounded as if he were guarding himself, getting ready for the big, bad blow.

"Upset? I'm furious because I've been all alone. I just found out I was a shadowhunter, my mother's just now gotten out of her coma, I had you, then we were siblings, then we weren't and then you were gone. Everything I knew is torn up and when I started to pick up the pieces and asses the damage I had no one there to help with the heavy lifting. I was scared because I didn't know anything. Everything was so confused, and I hardly knew where you were going or what you were doing before you were gone. You hardly said goodbye, you didn't tell me anything while you were there. I didn't know how you were or where or if you would be coming back or-" She choked on a sob.

Jace looked sickly pale in the moonlight. He looked as if he had received the fatal blow he was expecting. "Clary. By the Angel, Clary if I had known. It's all my fault. I never meant for this, love. Never." She only nodded. His stomach twisted and contracted, his heart took on a broken beat and he had to swallow hard around the lump in his throat. He felt like a complete and utter failure, because that was what he was.

"Clary, I am so sorry. I should have known what with everything going on...I didn't think. That's the really problem, eh? I don't think and then I hurt you. I hate to see you like this, love, it hurts me too. If wishes were fishes I'd cast my net. Then none of this would have happened and I wouldn't be losing you." His voice was thin and ragged.

She crawled over and immediately rested her face into the crook of his neck, wedging her shoulder under his arm. "You aren't losing me. You won't ever lose me." She sniffed.

He held her as tightly as he could and whispered his reply, "I'll double knot my net, I'll check for any wholes and where I find them. I'll reinforce them three times more than necessary. Then I won't have a chance of losing you when I cast my net."

"Yeah, well I have been told I'm a catch on many occasions." She felt his laugh as it rumbled around her and she smiled despite herself. When she shivered against the chill he immediately pulled her closer to him.

"I love you."

A few feet away Alec and Isabelle could be seen spying through the keyhole on the door that led to the stairs. "If wishes were fishes? Genius! I didn't know Jace was such a romantic."

"If he had said what you had told him, she would have known you told him to say it, Izzy." Alec mentioned matter-of-factually.

"Hey, my lines were pretty brilliant."

"They were stiff and very unoriginal." He mono-toned.

"Ah, what do you know. All I know is that I got him in with Clary _and_ avoided listening to Clary complain all in one fell swoop. Two birds with one stone."

Across the rooftops the cross-hairs of an antique shotgun were pointed at the two huddled lovers. He could see his breath in the dropping temperature and he was ready to be home. He was tired of watching the over dramatic life of Jace and his over emotional girlfriend. Finally they stilled. It looked as if the red haired girl had finally settled and had fallen asleep.

Perfect. He realigned his scope and put his finger to the trigger. It was too easy. "Two birds with one stone," He chuckled. The shot rang out and hit home.


End file.
